Flower on Sand
by Sailor Panda
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a demon that lived within a boy who was a grain of Sand. Once upon a time, there was a flower that was a girl who was also a Leaf. And thus the tale began.


**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This is what comes from reading too much fairytales and literature and then wanting to experiment. And then watching Naruto.

Lesson learned: Don't read. P

Spoilers (if you can read between the lines) up to manga chapter 247.

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Once upon a time there was a demon.

That demon lived within a boy. And that boy was a grain of Sand.

Once upon a time there was a flower.

That flower was a girl. And that girl was also a Leaf.

Now it was well known that in nature, there were many grains of Sand and Sand remained on the ground unless blown by the Wind. In the same nature, there were many colors of Leaf that were tied together by branches that were connected to the trunk of a tree that lived in the warmth of the Fire, which gave it life. In nature, the Sand remained low on the ground while the Leaf hung high above, seemingly always out of reach from the ground.

Sometimes, though, a gust of Wind would come to knock a Leaf down.

But such a thing did not always happen. After all, the Wind came mainly from where there was the Sand and the Sand existed in a country that was dry while the Leaf must exist in a country abundant with water and flowering life. So it was that a grain of Sand was rarely found in the country of the Leaf and a single Leaf was rarely found in the country of the Sand.

However, there were still times when the two did meet.

And, once upon a time, such a day did come.

The Wind was commanding and blew the boy who had a demon and was a grain of Sand to the land amongst the Leaf. It was there that this grain of Sand first saw the flower that was a girl who was also a Leaf.

Now flowers were rare in the Sand and he had never seen one like the flower of Leaf before. So the grain of Sand was curious and, when the other grains of Sand traveling with him and the other Leaf weren't looking, he would watch the flower and he would wonder. But, as Leaf and Sand rarely coexisted well, the flower amongst the Leaf and the grain of Sand did not coexist well either.

Still, the grain of Sand was a little curious about the flower. But the grain of Sand was also a boy who housed a demon inside and he listened to the demon. The demon whispered to him that the flower was weak and wasn't for a grain of Sand that wanted to be strong. So the grain of Sand listened to the demon and paid no more attention to the flower.

Then the flower stood up against the grain of Sand.

Against the grain of Sand, the weak flower who was also a Leaf tried to protect another Leaf who was a boy that had been bitten by the snake. The grain of Sand wasn't expecting this and didn't know what to do. But the grain of Sand had a demon and the demon hated the flower and told the grain of Sand to crush her and make her wilt. Though the grain of Sand didn't want to, he listened to the demon and would have done as the demon asked –

But then there was a fox.

The fox was also a demon that lived within a boy who was also a Leaf. And the Leaf with the fox wanted to protect the flower that was a Leaf as well as the Leaf that had been bitten by the snake.

So the grain of Sand with the demon and the Leaf with the fox fought.

However, the demon that lived inside the grain of Sand came out. And the demon continued to fight with the Leaf with the fox.

But the Leaf won and the demon went back into the grain of Sand.

The Leaf won and took the flower away.

And the grain of Sand never forgot.

However, the grain of Sand was wounded. So he and the other grains of Sand that were with him drifted back to the land from which they came.

But then the Leaf that was bitten by the snake flew away.

He was charmed by the snake that had bitten him.

Once more, the Wind commanded and sent the grain of Sand drifting back through the Fire to settle again amongst the Leaf. But he was not the only one as he and his fellow grains of Sand blew through and swept up to safety the other Leaf that chased after the one charmed by the snake.

The Leaf charmed by the snake had fallen from his tree and disappeared.

He was no longer a Leaf.

Now, once upon a time, the flower that was a girl who was a Leaf had been in love with the boy who was a Leaf that had been charmed by the snake and was no longer a Leaf. When the Leaf charmed by the snake disappeared, the flower that was also a Leaf left behind was trembling and weak.

But the flower wanted to grow strong.

So the flower asked the slug that was leader amongst the Leaf to teach her to be stronger. The slug agreed. The slug taught the flower while the toad that also lived amongst the Leaf hopped away with the Leaf that had the fox who was a demon. It was decided that the toad would teach the Leaf with the fox away from the tree of Leaf and then one day return home.

However, this was a tale about the flower and the grain of Sand. The story of the toad and the Leaf with the fox was a different tale for, perhaps, another day.

Now, as the flower worked to become stronger, sometimes the grain of Sand with the demon was asked by the Wind to carry his message through the Fire and deliver it to the slug that taught the flower. Because the flower was often with the slug, the grain of Sand often got to see the flower that was also a Leaf.

And the two did not get along.

The grain of Sand was abrasive to the flower to the point where she sometimes started to wilt at the contact. And because the slug told the flower to watch over the grain of Sand whenever he was amongst the Leaf, the flower had to listen to the slug that was her teacher and the leader amongst the Leaf. So whenever the grain of Sand drifted amongst the Leaf, the flower had to allow him to stick to her despite his rough abrasiveness. Still, when the slug wasn't looking…

Sometimes the naughty flower would try to flick off the sticky grain of Sand.

Unfortunately, that just seemed to make the grain of Sand stick even more.

Over time, as the flower tried not to wilt while she allowed the abrasive grain of sand to stick to her, the grain of Sand began to see that the flower was no longer as weak as he and the demon that lived within him had first thought. Though it was impossible to know for certain all the thoughts of a grain of Sand, it did seem that a certain grain of Sand came amongst the Leaf more and more often as the seasons passed.

Much to a certain flower's displeasure.

After all, the flower was the one to whom the grain of Sand always stuck.

And so an odd bond formed between the abrasive grain of Sand and the flower that sometimes tried to flick him away, with no apparent lasting results. They became a familiar sight amongst the Leaf, though not all who saw were comfortable with it. Of course, that was probably because the bond between the grain of Sand and the flower could sometimes seem…

Volatile and unstable.

Still, somehow they managed.

But time passed and the flower became stronger and smarter as she grew and minded the grain of Sand sticking to her less and less whenever he was blown to the Leaf by the Wind. The flower changed little by little and, during one of their numerous encounters, she once told the grain of Sand that he could change too – he didn't always have to remain a lone grain of Sand.

Maybe one day he could become the Wind.

The flower spoke truth.

There came a day when the old Wind died away and, when that happened, he left open room for a new Wind to take his place. And so the grain of Sand that was a boy with a demon thought hard about the flower's words and took a chance and –

The grain of Sand became the Wind.

He was no longer just a lone grain of Sand.

And as the flower continued to grow, the bond that was formed between her and the new Wind that had been a grain of Sand also seemed to grow. After all, the new Wind needed help as he adjusted to his new role and the slug ordered the flower to help the Wind. So the flower did and the Wind would occasionally blow across her path in ways that were sometimes teasing, sometimes taunting, but always there. But there were also times when the flower was ruffled by the Wind and when she felt the Wind was bending her too far, she would spring up and sway and swat back at the Wind.

When that happened, the Wind would sometimes blow away and disappear for a while. But eventually…

The Wind would return to ruffle the flower.

Though storms, some darker than others, came thundering here and there and sometimes broke the play between the flower and the Wind, eventually those storms would die away. As it so happened, it was during one of those dark storms where the flower that was a Leaf again met the Leaf she had once loved who was charmed by the snake. However, that Leaf who was no longer a Leaf had changed greatly from the one she knew and was going to crush the flower who was still a Leaf but –

He was suddenly knocked down by the strong Wind that blew in.

And the Wind did not come alone.

Other grains of Sand commanded by the Wind blew in too with other Leaf and the toad, the slug, and the Leaf with the fox that was a demon. They were able to deal with the snake, the no longer Leaf charmed by the snake and the others charmed by the snake, and the red clouds that had followed after the snake too. And because the Wind saw that he and the flower were no longer needed –

The Wind swept the flower away.

For a while the Wind and the flower disappeared and what happened during that time was unknown. However, a few days after the storm with the snake had completely died down, the Wind once more appeared and swept through Fire and deposited the flower back among the Leaf.

At first, the Leaf were so excited by the return of the flower that was also a Leaf that they clustered around her until she began to wish that she wasn't a Leaf anymore. But time continued to pass and gradually the other Leaf stopped clustering and gradually drifted away. Life for the flower went back to normal as she lived amongst the Leaf, though somehow the Wind started to intrude upon her more often until that too became normal.

The Wind would tease the flower and the flower would swat back at the Wind.

So it continued until, one day, the flower that was the girl that lived amongst the Leaf was plucked and carried away by the Wind that had been a grain of Sand who was a boy with a demon. The Wind eventually swept her to the land of the Sand where she was then planted. Though it was difficult, the single flower in the Wind's garden of Sand dug in her roots and gradually adjusted to the new earth on which she then grew and grew until she blossomed just as a flower should.

Then the Wind in the Sand had his flower and then his flower gave him seeds. And those seeds were planted and fertilized and grew until, eventually, the Wind and the flower had a new garden with many, many new smaller flowers sprouting in the Sand.

And they lived happily ever after.

Sometimes.

After all, the Wind never did stop teasing his flower…


End file.
